dc.description.abstract |
Background: In the evolving landscape of university libraries, technological adaptation plays a pivotal
role. But the sustainability of the technology adaptation is more crucial than downloading the
technology especially in the Sri Lankan context due to economic crisis, cost-effectiveness, local
economic viability and resource constraints, demand for capacity building, societal preferences,
attitudes, personal interests, and generation change, infrastructural changes, environmental impact,
and evolving needs.
Originality/Value: As key stakeholders, librarians provide context-specific insight in terms of
strategies, unique challenges, and innovative solutions pertinent to the Sri Lankan university libraries.
Objective: The study focuses on investigating the strategies, challenges, and solutions related to
technological adaptation in Sri Lankan university libraries from the perspective of librarians.
Methodology: For this qualitative research, structured interviews were conducted with randomly
selected 10 academics representing university libraries. Thematic analysis was administered to
analyze the best practices, inform decision-making processes, optimizing the role of technology in
advancing the digital evolution, challenges, and solutions to overcome them.
Findings: Assessment of current infrastructure, stakeholder engagement and collaboration,
customized technology solutions, capacity building and training, and cloud-based solutions were
suggested as strategies. Insufficient financial resources, infrastructure, technological literacy, and
resistance to change were among the top challenges while enabling cost-sharing Initiatives with
industry partners for shared investment, utilizing cloud services, public-private partnerships to build
the necessary infrastructure, conducting training, workshops, and seminars, providing access to online
courses or resources, implementing change management practices to address fears and resistance,
communicating the benefits of technology adoption to the stakeholders, initiating pilot projects to
foresee the advantages in small scale.
Conclusions: The identified factors in this actual scenario can be used as dimensions for a framework
to be included in policy formations which can be resulted through future research. |
en_US |